By Jeff Pfeiffer

It might not be the most unlikely TV show-to-video game adaptation I’ve seen (that distinction probably still falls to the Atari 2600 version of M*A*S*H), but it’s up there. This July, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is releasing a game based on ABC’s The Bachelor for Wii and Nintendo DS. Just like on the show, you vie for the affections of one of the hot Bachelors or Bachelorettes (five of the real-life Bachelors and Bachelorettes from the series will be featured in the game, including the recently married  Jason Mesnick, who ends up looking a little like Barack Obama in some shots from the game). Host Chris Harrison is also on hand. [Read more →]

Categories: TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: ABC, Jason Mesnick, Jeff Pfeiffer, The Bachelor, The Bachelor video game, video game, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Happy Holidays! ‘Tis the season to be jolly, and also to look back at some Christmas memories. What better way to be jolly than to enjoy some Yuletide TV programs from the past? Throughout the month I’ll be looking back at some famous, and perhaps some not-so-famous, Christmas shows from television days gone by. Hopefully you’ll find them as merry in their various ways as I do.

First off is a program I was reminded of when I saw it on BBC America the other night — Blackadder’s Christmas Carol from 1988. The hilarious Blackadder sitcom aired in the 1980s and starred Rowan Atkinson. In each of the show’s four series, Atkinson played a member of the Blackadder family who is present at various times in British history, from Elizabethan times to World War I. Each Blackadder is a mean-spirited sycophant, intent only on raising his own social status by any means necessary, often at the expense of others. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy, Holiday by RabbitEars
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Tags: Blackadder, Blackadder's Christmas Carol, Hugh Laurie, Jeff Pfeiffer, Jim Broadbent, Miranda Richardson, Robbie Coltrane, Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Set your DVR — as part of its 25 Days of Christmas celebration, ABC Family is showing 20 of Pixar’s animated shorts in a two-hour programming special on Dec. 2 at 7pm ET, with replays Dec. 18 at 10pm ET and Dec. 19 at 6pm ET. This is the first time that the legendary animation company’s short films have been shown on television all at once. It’s wonderful to look back at how brilliantly even the older films create such vivid and expressive characters — even out of normally inanimate objects — that we quickly relate to.

Highlights include:

The Adventures of André and Wally B. — This 1984 short was actually created by Lucasfilm’s Computer Graphics Project, which eventually spun off to become Pixar. It was animated by John Lasseter, who became a major player at Pixar. This quick and cute little film still looks good, as it finds André being awoken from his forest nap by a pesky bee.

[Read more →]

Categories: Animation, Family, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: ABC Family, For the Birds, Geri's Game, Jeff Pfeiffer, John Lasseter, Knick Knack, Luxo Jr., Pixar, The Adventures of Andre and Wally B, Tin Toy

JFK & Jackie arrive in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963

By Jeff Pfeiffer

This Sunday, Nov. 22, will be the 46th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The exact details behind this act remain among our country’s most enduring mysteries, and have led to many theories, some reasonable, others bordering on — or crossing into — crackpot conspiracy territory. It’s likely we will never know for sure what actually took place leading up to the firing of those bullets in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza in 1963, but it will always remain good speculative fodder for TV networks and fascinated audiences. This year is no exception, as a few new and repeat specials are airing to keep the mystery alive.

The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After (repeat) – History, Nov. 21 at 8pm ET. For the first time, using never-before-seen transcripts only recently made public, this film pieces together the 24-hour period after the shots were fired. The timeline reveals startling new information about the death of the president and the traumatic transfer of power to his successor, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. From new details about when JFK really died, to the truth behind LBJ’s Oath of Office photo on Air Force One, this special uncovers an unfamiliar story born out of one of the most crucial days in American history. [Read more →]

Categories: Documentary, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: Carlos Marcello, Dallas, Dealey Plaza, Did the Mob Kill JFK?, Discovery Channel, History, Jack Ruby, Jeff Pfeiffer, JFK, JFK assassination, JFK: The Ruby Connection, Jim Leavelle, John F. Kennedy, Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald, Lyndon B. Johnson, National Geographic Channel, November 22 1963, The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, The Lost JFK Tapes

Two fan-favorite actresses from Syfy’s departed hit series Battlestar Galactica will be making guest appearances on two popular CBS comedies.

In the Nov. 16 “Gorp. Fnark. Schmegle.” episode of Two and a Half Men, Tricia Helfer (on the right in this photo; she played sexy Cylon “Number Six” on Battlestar) stops by. Helfer plays Gail, Chelsea’s (Jennifer Taylor) college roommate, who is invited by Chelsea to stay at the house while getting over a bad breakup. Naturally, Charlie (Charlie Sheen) is intrigued, and likely a bit frustrated, by this development. [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: Battlestar Galactica, CBS, Charlie Sheen, Chuck Lorre, Gorp Fnark Schmegle, guest stars, Jeff Pfeiffer, Jennifer Taylor, Kara Thrace, Katee Sackhoff, Number Six, Simon Helberg, Starbuck, The Big Bang Theory, The Vengeance Formulation, Tricia Helfer, Two and a Half Men

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Gen-Xers might be feeling a little older today as the classic children’s show Sesame Street begins its 40th season. The series debuted on Nov. 10, 1969, and since then has continued to educate, inspire and entertain generations of kids  through clever songs, animation and, of course, Jim Henson’s Muppets.

The new season will feature some changes. While maintaining an emphasis on literacy and numeracy, Season 40 also kicks off “My World is Green & Growing,” a two-year science initiative designed to increase positive awareness towards nature and encourage behavior that shows respect and care for the environment. Along this line, First Lady Michelle Obama appears in the season premiere to teach the Street’s residents about the benefits of planting a garden and healthy eating.

Also this season, the show will be reformatted to resemble a typical broadcasting block. Murray the Monster hosts each episode from different locations linking four longer segments with interstitials throughout the hour. The block format begins and ends with a brand-new show open and close, integrating chalk-art animation with the Muppets, set to a new version of the classic title tune. [Read more →]

Categories: Family, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: 40 years, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Jeff Pfeiffer, Michelle Obama, Muppets, Oscar the Grouch, PBS, Sesame Street, Sesame Street Season 40

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Scene from Columbia Pictures' "2012"

Here we go again. Just as with all the Y2K worries in 1999 and several “end-of-the-world” scenarios and dates speculated about throughout history, people have again found something “apocalyptic” to fret about. [Read more →]

Categories: TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: 2012, 2012 Apocalypse, 2012 movie, 2012 prophecy, 2012: Countdown to Armageddon, 2012: Startling New Secrets, apocalypse, armageddon, codex, Dec. 21 2012, Discovery Channel, doomsday, History, Jeff Pfeiffer, Lester Holt, Maya calendar, Maya prophecy, National Geographic Channel, NGC, Nostradamus Effect: 2012 Extinction, Roland Emmerich, Syfy

"The Perfect Storm"

For the first time in its 27-year history, The Weather Channel will be adding feature films to its programming schedule with a movie series called “The Weather Channel Presents …” Each film shown will have weather as a central part of its story, plot or overall theme. Meteorologist Jen Carfagno hosts the series, introducing each film and providing relevant commentary.

According to Geoffrey Darby, executive vice president of programming, “From the Nor’easter in The Perfect Storm to the tornado that takes Dorothy to Oz, weather has a long history as a film star. Adding films to our Friday night lineup is a great way for us to further demonstrate how weather is an all-encompassing part of our lives that entertains and inspires us.”

During the films, viewers will continue to receive their localized weather forecasts. They can be seen on the lower portion of the screen in addition to any severe weather alerts or warnings.

“The Weather Channel Presents …” film series airs Fridays at 8pm ET, beginning Oct. 30 with The Perfect Storm, a showing that coincides with the 18th anniversary of the actual “perfect storm” that struck New England in 1991, on which the film is based.

Also coming:

March of the Penguins, Nov. 6 (subfreezing Antarctic temps and snowstorms)

Misery, Nov. 13 (snowstorm)

Deep Blue Sea, Nov. 20 (tropical storm)

Categories: Movies, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: Deep Blue Sea, Jeff Pfeiffer, Jen Carfagno, March of the Penguins, misery, Movies, The Perfect Storm, The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel Presents

Whether you’re looking for hardcore horror, family-friendly frights, or something in between, here’s a selection of some of the shows and movies to get you in a macabre mood this Halloween season. For more detail on the scary movies listed here, and to search for others throughout the month, visit our online movie database.

Goosebumps — Cartoon Network, weekdays at 4:30pm ET through Oct. 29. Episodes from all three seasons of the show that adapted R.L. Stine’s spooky book series for television.

The Othersiders – Cartoon Network, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30pm ET; entire week of episodes Oct. 26-30, culminating in special episode Oct. 30 at 9pm ET. Twelve new episodes of this series, in which five young friends investigate haunted locations, air this month. In a one-hour presentation on Oct. 30, the gang visits the abandoned prison Alcatraz to check out reports of ghostly activity. [Read more →]

Categories: Family, Horror, Movies, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: 13 Nights of Halloween, 13 Scarier Movie Moments, ABC, ABC Family, Alien 30th anniversary, AMC, Animal Planet, BIO Channel, Cartoon Network, Cat People, Celebrity Ghost Stories, Dead of Night, Discovery Channel, Fearfest, FOX, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Adventures Live, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Lab, Goosebumps, Halloween, Halloween programming, Halloween specials, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Jeff Pfeiffer, MGM HD, Monsters vs. Aliens Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space, Nickelodeon, Poltergeist, Psycho, Roseanne, Scary Movies, Scream 2009, Starz, TCM, The Haunting, The House of the Devil, The Othersiders, The Silence of the Lambs, The Simpsons, Travel Channel, Treehouse of Horror XX, TV Land, Werewolves: The Dark Survivors, WGN America, Zombiemania

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Franklin Roosevelt touring Yellowstone

In last night’s fifth episode of The National Parks: America’s Best Idea on PBS, “Great Nature (1933-1945),” we see how the national parks are affected — and how they have an effect — as America enters the Great Depression and World War II.

Under the guidance of a new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the parks thrive. Like his cousin Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin has a love for the outdoors. With Stephen Mather gone, his assistant Horace Albright is now director of the National Park Service. Albright has a unique goal: to transfer national military parks, battlefields and monuments into the national park system. Albright convinces Roosevelt this should be done, and FDR signs orders giving the agency responsibility over military parks, historic battlefields and monuments. Now part of the National Park system are places like the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall. It’s a dramatic shift in the idea of the National Park Service, to not only protect America’s areas of natural beauty and wildlife, but also to preserve and remember the places that honor the very idea of the country itself. [Read more →]

Categories: Documentary, Fall Preview 2009 by RabbitEars
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Tags: Ansel Adams, CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Melendez Wright, Grand Teton, Great Depression, Hanaye Matsushita, Harold Ickes, Iwao Matsushita, Jackson Hole, Japanese internment camps, Jeff Pfeiffer, Joshua Tree, Ken Burns, Kings Canyon, Marian Anderson, Mount Rainier, PBS, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, World War II